Tag Archives: Cambodia

Bokor hill station was a resort built in the early twenties of last century for the French colonial settlers in Cambodia. It was conveniently located to escape the heat and humidity of the capital Phnom Penh.

In 9 months 900 lives were lost while building the place. The centerpiece was the grand palace hotel and casino, complemented by shops, a post office (now demolished), a church and the Royal Apartments.

In the early seventies the place was abandoned as the Khmer rouge took over the area and it remained one of their last strongholds. Now it’s a ghosttown that is covered in clouds for most part of the day.

Bokor Hill station can best be visited by renting a motorbike in Kampot heading west over NH3 then continue the very decripit road (it’s an adventure) uphill.

Angkor, in Cambodia’s northern province of Siem Reap, is one of the most important archaeological sites of Southeast Asia. A Unesco world heritage site, it extends over 400 square kilometres and contains the magnificent remains of the different capitals of the Khmer Empire, from the 9th to the 15th century. They include the famous Temple of Angkor Wat and, at Angkor Thom, the Bayon Temple with its countless sculptural decorations.

With over two million visitors each year, what strikes me most is that Angkor can still give the traveler a true explorer’s feel. Of course taking your time and going well off the main trails helps a lot. I rented a bike for three days to explore the huge area. To get kinda lost and be fully alone amidst ruins peeping from underneath the centuries old trees. immersed in the mystical atmosphere…

Angkor, the largest religious monument in the world was recently in the news because people regularly lower their pants for nude pictures. They might very well have confused Angkor with the temples of Khajuraho in India, where the sexual practices at the time are depicted rather vividly.

The Killing Fields are a number of sites in Cambodia where large numbers of people were killed and buried by the communist Khmer Rouge regime, during its rule of the country from 1975 to 1979, immediately after the end of the Cambodian Civil War.

Estimates of the total number of deaths resulting from Khmer Rouge policies, including disease and starvation, range from 1.7 to 2.5 million out of a 1975 population of roughly 8 million.

The Khmer Rouge regime arrested and eventually executed almost everyone suspected of connections with the former government or with foreign governments, as well as professionals and intellectuals.

Tuol Sleng is a former high school which was used as the notorious security prison 21 (S-21) by the Khmer Rouge. It was one of at least 150 execution centers in the country, and as many as 20,000 prisoners there were later killed.

The prisoners were photographed before being locked up and little did they know about their fate. Some of them even gave their best smile to the camera as if posing for the school photographer…